Abstract

Molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to study the melting and dissociation of free tungstennanoparticles. For the various interatomic potentials applied, the melting points of the tungstennanoparticles increased with increasing nanoparticle diameter. Combining these results with the melting point of bulk tungsten in the experiment, the melting point of nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 4 to 12 nm could be determined. As the temperature increases, free nanoparticles are subject to dissociation phenomena. The dissociation rate was observed to follow Arrhenius behavior, and the Meyer–Neldel rule was obeyed. These results are useful in understanding the behavior of tungsten dust generated in nuclear fusion devices as well as for the preparation, formation, and application of tungsten powders.

Received 28 October 2015Accepted 14 December 2015Published online 23 December 2015

Acknowledgments:

This work was supported by the National Magnetic Confinement Fusion Program of China (2013GB109002), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11505120) and Science Foundation for Young Teachers of Sichuan University (2082604174033).

Abstract

Molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to study the melting and dissociation of free tungstennanoparticles. For the various interatomic potentials applied, the melting points of the tungstennanoparticles increased with increasing nanoparticle diameter. Combining these results with the melting point of bulk tungsten in the experiment, the melting point of nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 4 to 12 nm could be determined. As the temperature increases, free nanoparticles are subject to dissociation phenomena. The dissociation rate was observed to follow Arrhenius behavior, and the Meyer–Neldel rule was obeyed. These results are useful in understanding the behavior of tungsten dust generated in nuclear fusion devices as well as for the preparation, formation, and application of tungsten powders.

Full text loading...

A molecular dynamics study of melting and dissociation of tungsten nanoparticles